Trump's cyber policy remains 'to be determined'

President Trump was the driver of a "change" election in 2016, but after four months in office it remains unclear what kind of change he wants to bring to the cybersecurity policy space.

The Trump administration has killed Obama-era cybersecurity regulations in the telecommunications sector, but its approach in other areas has been much more cautious, including in a closely scrutinized cyber executive order released last month.

"I have an optimistic outlook," said Matthew Ballard, a former GOP House Homeland Security Committee staffer now with the Glen Echo Group consulting firm. "The cyber E.O. is a foundation," he said, pointing in particular to its grounding in the framework of cybersecurity standards developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

But concerns remain that the Trump administration has yet to pull together the various strands of cyber policy and begin to articulate a vision for moving ahead.

By comparison, former President Barack Obama at about the same time in his new presidency delivered a speech that largely set the administration's direction on cyber for years to come.